


Respite

by RetroactiveCon



Series: Praying That It'll Be You [16]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:54:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21922480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RetroactiveCon/pseuds/RetroactiveCon
Summary: It hasn’t been a particularly stressful day—in fact, by STAR Labs standards it’s practically a day off—but Barry has spent the better part of twelve hours training an excitable new speedster while Cisco soothes her panicking father and Joe consoles his jealous son. Hartley has done his best to keep to himself, but there’s no ignoring Jesse when she bursts into the Cortex, her cheeks flushed and her eyes gleaming. Barry trails behind her, mopping his brow.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Hartley Rathaway
Series: Praying That It'll Be You [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1562548
Comments: 9
Kudos: 85





	Respite

It hasn’t been a particularly stressful day—in fact, by STAR Labs standards it’s practically a day off—but Barry has spent the better part of twelve hours training an excitable new speedster while Cisco soothes her panicking father and Joe consoles his jealous son. Hartley has done his best to keep to himself, but there’s no ignoring Jesse when she bursts into the Cortex, her cheeks flushed and her eyes gleaming. Barry trails behind her, mopping his brow. 

“Dad, it’s so fun,” Jesse gushes, grasping Harry’s hands and pulling him in a circle. “You have no idea what it feels like to just _go._ Like the whole world melts away.” 

Wally watches enviously. Joe lays a hand on his shoulder and steers him toward the door. He stops to give Barry a one-armed hug that turns into a concerned glance. 

“Are you okay? ‘Cause you look a little…”

Barry gestures helplessly at Jesse, who looks as though she’s about to run a few laps of the Cortex. “Was I like this when I first got my powers?”

Joe’s eyes glint with suppressed laughter. “Barr, I think you might have been worse. There were some days I thought you were gonna vibrate right out of your skin if you didn’t run to Star City and back like three times.” 

“Yeah-huh,” he mumbles. When he sees Wally, a weary grin spreads across his face. “Hey. I didn’t know you stayed.”

“Yeah.” Wally rubs the back of his neck, his eyes flitting everywhere but Barry’s face. “Caitlin wanted to run some tests on me. I’m still full of dark matter, it’s just not doing anything.” 

“Aw, man.” Barry pulls him into a hug. Wally stiffens awkwardly, his eyes widening in a silent plea for help. Joe shrugs at him, covering his smile with a fist. “Maybe that’s for the best. At least this way, I know you’ll be safe.”

“Yeah,” Wally echoes despondently. “Safe. G’night, Barry.”

“’Night!” Barry watches him go, smiling broadly at no one in particular. Hartley knows that look—he needs to be in bed, preferably (although by no means necessarily) asleep. He’s halfway across the room, intent on collecting his speedster and leaving, when Cisco wraps an arm around Barry’s shoulders. 

“So Jesse wore you out?”

“Yeah.” Barry curls against Cisco’s side. It’s nothing more than an instinctive reaction to being touched, but it makes jealousy kindle in Hartley’s chest. “She’s fast, man. Like, I think faster than me. Or maybe she’s just not as tired? I dunno.” 

“Yeah, well, I think it kinda goes without saying that you’re tired.” The smile Cisco’s trying to hide makes itself known in the tone of his voice. “Maybe you should go get some sleep?”

“No.” Barry burrows his face into the crook of Cisco’s neck. “Don’t I have to patrol?”

“No, man, I got this one tonight. You need to save your energy for your Padawan.” He jerks a thumb at Jesse, who’s running laps around Harry. If Hartley could think beyond the way Barry is cuddling Cisco, he might be amused by the look on Harry’s face. “Plus, I think if I don’t get scarce in the next minute or two, I’m gonna have to pay a pissed-off Piper.” 

Barry lifts his head, his expression adorably blank. When he sees Hartley, confusion gives way to joy. “Hartley! Hi!” 

“Hi,” Hartley parrots. He lays a hand on Barry’s arm. As he’d done with Cisco, Barry burrows close to him. Hartley presses a gentle kiss to his brow. “Loath as I am to admit it, Cisco is right.” Cisco makes a show of rolling his eyes. Barry, whose back is to him, remains oblivious. “We ought to go home.”

“Mhmm.” Barry nods, his eyes falling closed. “G’night.”

Hartley waves goodbyes to Caitlin, Harry, and Jesse, the latter of whom skids to a screeching halt to wave in return. Barry perks up at the sound of rubber soles on metal. “Huh? Bye, Jesse!” 

“Bye, Barry!” She appears at their side in a blur of lightning. “Sorry for wearing you out.”

“I’m just getting old,” he mumbles. 

“Not old!” she proclaims. “You just do a lot. You fight villains all the time, and then suddenly you have a new speedster to teach. No wonder you’re exhausted.” 

“Mhmm.” Barry’s head drops back onto Hartley’s shoulder. Hartley steers him into the elevator, and as soon as the door shuts, draws him into a lazy kiss. 

“You run yourself to exhaustion,” he scolds. “I would worry were you not so adorable when you’re sleepy.” 

“You call me adorable a lot.” Barry nuzzles his nose against the tender skin at the juncture of Hartley’s neck and shoulder. His hair tickles Hartley’s jaw. 

“You often do adorable things.” Hartley rubs a hand over his shoulders. “The way you get cuddly when you’re sleepy is one of those things.”

Barry hums contentedly. “But you’d rather I didn’t cuddle Cisco.” 

“I didn’t say that.” It’s accurate, but it isn’t Hartley’s place to stop Barry from being affectionate with the rest of the team. (He might intervene if Barry tries to cuddle Caitlin, not out of jealousy but because Caitlin prefers not to be cuddled.) 

They take a cab back to their flat. Halfway through the ride, it strikes Hartley that he’s become incredibly spoiled by Barry’s speed: even ten minutes in a cab feel unbearable. 

“I could’ve run us,” Barry mumbles. 

“Perhaps.” Hartley kisses the top of his head. “But you’re tired, and you’re prone to running into things when you’re tired.” 

“Oh yeah.” Barry yawns and tucks himself closer to Hartley’s side. “I guess I do.”

As soon as they’re in their flat, Barry kicks off his shoes, wanders into the bedroom, and curls atop the covers fully clothed. Hartley strips to his underclothes and lies down alongside him. “Won’t you be hot in the night, sweet boy?”

“Mhmm,” Barry agrees. There’s a rush of air and a collision that rattles the bed. Barry topples back onto the mattress, caught in his jeans. 

“You’re unutterably absurd sometimes,” Hartley laughs, kissing the top of Barry’s head. 

“Yep.” Barry kicks off his jeans and crawls back to Hartley’s side. He burrows his face into the crook of Hartley’s neck the same way he did at STAR Labs. “That’s me. Sweet but stupid.” 

“Sweet, yes.” Hartley burrows closer to Barry’s warmth. “But you’re not stupid, merely clumsy.”

Barry’s response is just a mumble against Hartley’s shoulder. He’s asleep within the next two or three breaths. 

“Sleep well.” Hartley says it with a little laugh, still amused by Barry’s exhausted antics, but it reminds him of the nightmares Barry is sure to endure. Small wonder Jesse was able to weary him; even with the 'melt' trigger to help him fall asleep, he hasn’t slept through the night in weeks. When Hartley murmurs “I’m here,” it’s as much a reassurance for himself as it is a promise to Barry.


End file.
